Ahead of the start of the second leg of the Europa League knockout round, Roma announced that De Rossi would remain in charge next season. De Rossi took over the team before and was only on a contract of a few months. In the end, Roma is still not at ease with him, after all, De Rossi has not coached the first team before this, and what he didn't expect is that De Rossi brought a surprise to Roma fans.
Taking over Roma from Jose Mourinho, De Rossi's pressure can be imagined, and the team hopes that he can turn the tide. However, De Rossi also knows that the outside world is not optimistic about him, but fortunately he is very confident. After taking charge of Roma, De Rossi immediately adjusted the team's lineup, allowing Roma to play a back four, which also gave the team a new look.
In Serie A, Roma beat Verona, Salernitana and Cagliari in succession, and De Rossi used a wave of three consecutive wins to clear his name. Since then, they have continued to steal points and are now in the top five. In the Europa League, Roma also kept going. In the first leg of the 1/4 knockout round, Roma defeated AC Milan 1-0 away, which was a big surprise.
In the second leg, Roma returned to their home stadium and did not give AC Milan any chance. In the 12th minute of the first half, Roberto Mancini Jr. broke the deadlock for Roma with a follow-up shot in front of the goal. Dybala also scored almost 10 minutes later, and the Argentine superstar volleyed home from inside the box to make it 2-0 and kill the suspense of progression. AC Milan want to turn the tables, they have to score at least three goals, it's too difficult.
In the 85th minute, AC Milan, who had been unable to attack for a long time, finally relied on Gabia's header to rewrite the score to 1-2, but unfortunately they were still powerless, and finally could only be eliminated with an aggregate score of 1-3 and missed the semifinals of this season's Europa League. After the game, Roma celebrated wildly on the pitch as they beat a mighty AC Milan double, and it was indeed worth a celebration.
In the semi-finals, Roma will face Bayer Leverkusen, who are the Bundesliga champions and arguably the best team in Europe this season. However, Rome does not have to be inferior at all, because their strength and form are enough to compete with their opponents. Roma have played 17 games under De Rossi (the away game against Udinese is not counted), with 11 wins and four draws, losing just two to Inter and Brighton in that time. In fact, Roma were clearly retained after a 1-0 defeat at Brighton in the Europa League (4-0 at home in the first leg), meaning that the only game they really lost was Inter. Under De Rossi, Roma have been completely transformed and they are now capable of beating any team, even against Bayer Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in 44 games.
It is worth mentioning that with Roma and Atalanta (3-1 on aggregate against Liverpool) reaching the Europa League semifinals, plus Fiorentina advancing to the semifinals of the Europa League, Serie A has locked the top two in European points this season, which means that Serie A has won 5 Champions League places, and the top five teams this season will participate in next season's Champions League. Roma are now fifth, four points ahead of Atalanta and have a good chance of securing a top-five finish.
I have to say that De Rossi is amazing, Rome is under him, it is like being reborn. At a crucial moment in the season, Roma decided to replace Jose Mourinho, and now it seems that they really did not change the manager in vain. When the team was on the verge of despair, De Rossi saved the team, and if he can lead the team to win the Europa League this season and get the Champions League place, then he may be a god!